We stand at a key moment in history, where exponential technological advances are delivering transformational disruption across industries and sectors which will affect everyone. It is our future. Rapid change is a reality.
These advances also represent a highly profitable investment opportunity. The time to capture this opportunity is now. Despite the extraordinary technological advances, so far large parts of the investment community have focused on less scientifically advanced domains such as social media and the sharing economy. We believe that a generational opportunity exists to invest in the finest deep technology and deep science to generate transformational progress, accelerating the globally leading companies of the future. That acceleration in deep technology and deep science has been, and will continue to be, fuelled by the present pandemic, and we believe that typically in times of crisis arise the strongest investment opportunities.
Alice Newcombe-Ellis and the co-founding Science Partners established Ahren LP, or Ahren, an investment fund with a highly differentiated approach to capitalize on this opportunity. Ahren leverages a strong partnership between its investment talent and its founding Science Partners, an elite group of Cambridge University’s finest minds and most successful commercial technologists and scientists. Ahren was designed and created as a powerful investment vehicle to lead this change and harness it for good. Ahren invests in companies that it believes will penetrate, or create, massive markets. Ahren helps ensure its investors are the disruptors, not the disrupted. Ahren screens for deep technology and deep science, and invests for vast scale and profitability.
Ahren focuses on four domains: Planet & Efficient Energy; Brain & Artificial Intelligence; Genetics & Platform Technologies; and Space, Robotics & Physics. The strategy has an overarching theme: to invest at the intersection of deep technology and deep science in opportunities that are transformational and highly commercial. That “intersection” is an operative word: we believe wholeheartedly that the future will be cross-domain.
Ahren seeks to invest only where it believes it has an edge: (i) access edge, where it is able to achieve privileged sourcing as result of a trusted global network including Nobel Laureates, preeminent technology company leaders, unicorn founding technologists and leading business thinkers; (ii) diligence edge, via significant expertise to assess both technical and commercial risk and invest in complexity; and (iii) success impact edge, where it is able to add meaningful value to the companies in which it invests. As a result, Ahren believes it is a highly attractive partner to both the companies that it invests in and their founders.
Ahren’s co-founding Science Partners are intrinsic to the model and deeply committed to Ahren’s success: from sourcing investment opportunities from their networks, to nucleation of opportunities from scratch; in the all-important thorough diligence of deep technology and deep science companies; and in mentoring and support they provide to Ahren’s entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs come to Ahren as a group they trust and respect and that can have a differentiated impact on their success.
Since Ahren was established, it has invested in several companies across its four domains, from nucleating businesses with its founding Science Partners and other entrepreneurs, to backing late stage technology unicorns. Each is a cutting-edge technology in a multi-billion-dollar market. Ahren is doing its utmost to support the superb teams of these transformative companies to prosper, succeed and change the world for the better.
Ahren Acquisition Corp., an affiliate of Ahren, was established, because we see meaningful benefits for exceptional later stage deep technology and deep science companies in pursuing a business combination with a SPAC, including: (i) access to significant capital required to swiftly accelerate development and scale up a technology, enabling a company to “win big”; (ii) a more efficient route to a public listing, giving management the space to focus on running their business; and (iii) ability to articulate an exceptional growth story to public market investors.
Ahren Acquisition Corp.’s approach will be consistent with that of Ahren. We believe the model is ideally suited to provide an edge given its: (i) privileged access to valuable target opportunities with management teams that are highly motivated to engage with our team; (ii) capability to properly diligence and help ensure a strong, credible transaction; and (iii) ability to add meaningful long-term value post transaction and the ability attract an investor group with the same values. By leveraging Ahren’s model and relationships, we believe we are creating a unique opportunity for investors in Ahren Acquisition Corp.
In conclusion, we believe Ahren Acquisition Corp.’s approach is highly differentiated, in terms of quality, approach and culture. We have strong, consistent, and clear values. Our commitment is unwavering. Our goal is to elevate those who share its vision. And ultimately, we believe that real, positively impactful change and outsized risk-adjusted returns are achievable through investing in highest end technology and cutting-edge science.
The Ahren Acquisition Corp. Team